Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Industry-Standard Sound-Ef ects Libraries
Today, the open market of ers libraries of all kinds, from cartoon sounds to
ambient backgrounds. Sound designers mix, edit, and recombine sounds
from these libraries to produce original creations. It is generally advisable
to create your own sounds, but original sounds take time and can be
costly. There is no shame in using sound libraries, but it is preferable to
customize anything you source to avoid sounding too generic.
Sound Ideas and Hollywood Edge are two very well-known and respected sound ef ect collection
makers, and were among the i rst to of er complete libraries of sound ef ects on CD for i lm and
television purposes. They are still used frequently today, though experienced sound designers will
often process these sounds, due to their overly common usage in the industry.
Downloadable Sound-Ef ects Libraries
With the advent of the Web, many companies have begun providing
sound libraries online. Such libraries of er immediate access: the ability to
listen to clips and download them on the spot.
A few paid websites with sound ef ects. Left to right: thegamecreators.com, sounddogs.com
and soundranger.com. These sites contract with a number of established as well as independent
sound designers to provide a wide variety of sound ef ects that can be purchased digitally and
downloaded.
